


Iron SHIELD

by CanineR7A7



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: But he doesn't mean to be, Other, Protective Nick Fury, Steve Rogers is an asshole
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-05-29
Packaged: 2019-05-15 16:49:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14794296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CanineR7A7/pseuds/CanineR7A7
Summary: The team's first mistake? Thinking that Nick hadn't seen the footage from the battle. The team's second mistake? Not allowing Stark to explain his side. The team's third mistake? Not realising that the director is dating the resident billionaire.





	Iron SHIELD

Nick Fury considered himself to be a reasonable man, a man with questionable morals, but a reasonable man all the same. One thing he did not consider himself to be was patient and the individuals in front of him were doing a good job of destroying the very little amount of patience he had left, so really, it shouldn’t have surprised anyone when he slammed his fist on the table to cut off the captain’s rant about Stark.

“That is enough!” He bellowed before turning to the billionaire who was currently trying to keep his mask up. The director marched to the younger man and pulled him up by the collar of his shirt before crushing their lips together.

“Go and wait outside.” He growled quietly and watched as Stark dazedly nodded before shakily walking from the room. Fury’s attention returned to the team who each wore similar expressions of shock and horror, except for Natasha but he doubted anything fazed her.

“Now, did any of you actually allow Stark to explain his side of events? Or were you too busy planning to use him as your scapegoat, AGAIN?!” Barton and, surprisingly, Romanov bowed their heads in shame, Banner sent a thankful glance towards the director – Fury motioned for the doctor to leave and made a mental note to apologise for including the man in his initial accusation – Thor gained a thoughtful expression which Fury didn’t care to ask about. Rogers, on the other hand, just levelled his ‘Captain America is disappointed in you’ expression which just irritated Nick more than he would later admit.

“Iron Man was given a direct order and disobeyed it for the sole purpose of inflating his ego, selfishly endangering the life of a member of this team.” The commanding tone may be enough to sway the press and, sadly, Stark himself. But Nick was not as easily convinced.

“Allow me prove how wrong you are _Captain._ ” Fury wasn’t sure whether it was the failed attempt to hide his growl or the anger that was fixed firmly on his face but Rogers seemed to realise that the director wasn’t going to roll over simply because Captain America demanded it.

“Firstly, Stark is not a soldier. He has grown up in an environment where he was forced to go against rules and direct instructions to gain even a shred of attention. If that wasn’t enough, he was sent to college and MIT at a young age where every instruction, every demand, was either an attempt made by other students to get something from him or teachers trying to prove that he had no place there. Then he is made CEO of his father’s company – therefore being the one calling the shots – where his second-in-command attempted to undermine him at every turn. And that’s ignoring the countless kidnappings where he was either used as ransom material or demanded to provide something.” The director could feel a faint charge in the room and didn’t need to look at Thor to know the God was fuming, Natasha was still impassive but she knew already knew Stark’s backstory, Clint was doing an extremely valiant attempt to stop himself from punching something, Steve – while looking slightly disheartened at his teammate’s experiences – merely shook his head and pointed another disappointed glance at the director.

“This is my point, why was he made an Avenger if he has difficulty following orders? I understand you must have your reasons Sir, but the fact remains that Iron Man is a liability, I’ve read his file and nothing in there states a reason that he should be used in the field other than the suit. Surely there are more capable people who can pilot it.” The director may have agreed with the Captain at one point, but he had since learned that Stark was more than a mess of sob stories and disregard for authority, a lesson it was time the Captain learned.

“The reason his file contains hardly any information on him is one of those reasons. How do you think SHIELD has managed to remain secret after New York? How do you think many other top secret organisations have conspiracy theories against them, but not us? Stark is, quite possibly, the world’s greatest hacker, he has infiltrated our servers more times than our security and technology teams would ever admit. He could’ve single-handedly brought SHIELD to the ground but, instead, made an effort to incorporate one of the strongest firewalls I have ever seen into our systems, as well as several surprises for any other would-be hacker.” Fury explained, taking satisfaction in the surprise that briefly took over Romanov’s face, before focusing on Rogers who seemed desperate to prove Fury wrong about a man he had known for years compared to Rogers’ months.

“And it doesn’t bother you that Stark probably knows every scrap of classified information? Enough to probably take over SHIELD?” If the Captain thought that lowly of the billionaire then the director didn’t want to know how he thought of the Nazis.

“No. Practically every person that Stark has ever trusted has either betrayed him, abandoned him or abused him to the point where he believes people only like him because of the things he can give them. I don’t blame him for wanting to know everything about the people he works with, he has become conditioned to believe that everyone will leave him in the end. The only reason I’m even telling you this is because he gave me permission to expose him if I thought it was necessary.” Nick didn’t spare Clint a glance when he stormed from the room; he wasn’t the one who needed the lecture.

“That just brings back my question, why was an emotionally compromised man cleared for field duty when he clearly can’t trust people to have his back?” Fury could admit that the question had some merit but he wasn’t going to allow Rogers the satisfaction of removing a team member, simply because he wouldn’t bow to Captain America’s legacy.

“He was cleared because Stark has the rare ability to take the endless amount of shit the world throws at him and turn it into his own shield. People believe him to be a spoiled brat who will do anything they demand of him? Watch as he allows them to underestimate him, only to destroy everything that lets them hold power over others. Stark may be emotionally compromised, but that has never stopped him from doing his job before and I see no reason to pull him off the team because of it.” The director was beginning to tire of the Captain’s failed arguments but he was willing to keep going if it meant his billionaire could keep one of the few things he would ever admit to caring about.

“You mentioned that Stark was not a soldier yet you have no problem with him piloting the Iron Man armour. What if the suit is damaged? How can you expect Stark to be of any help without it?” Nick almost felt sorry for Steve; it was making this far too easy.

“You’re right, Stark is not a soldier. But he’s the next best thing, a former weapons manufacturer. Something that impressed me about Stark was that he tested every weapon he created himself. In fact, I’d wager that he knows more about weapons than Romanov and Barton. Even if the Iron Man armour was damaged and there were no other weapons near him, Stark is one of the most intelligent Men on the planet. He would still be able to provide valuable information to the team, especially when fighting machines since I’m fairly sure he understands them better than he understands people.” The director almost smiled when the assassin nodded at his bet, but the Captain clearly didn’t share their amusement.

“Yet his arrogance allowed another Avenger to be hurt, if he had followed orders that could have been avoided.” Nick barely restrained himself from face-palming.

“I saw the footage from the battle Captain, Stark disobeyed your order because he saw that a group of civilians were trapped and would have been killed had he not intervened. You and the rest of the team are aware that you could be injured and you should be prepared to deal with that. Civilians on the other hand, are not, and I doubt that their families would have accepted _‘We had to protect our team.’_ As an excuse.” Thor had left the room at the explanation, leaving only Romanov who was no longer paying attention, and Rogers who had gained a thoughtful frown.

“Why didn’t he say anything?” The director could’ve laughed then and there but he only allowed himself a few seconds to ensure that he had successfully swallowed it.

“Because you wouldn’t let him. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a boyfriend to attend to.” Nick didn’t wait for either of them to reply as he marched from the room, he barely repressed a smile at the sight of Tony asleep against the wall opposite the door. He crouched down and lightly shook the man’s shoulders.

“Wha-?” Stark yawned out as he rubbed his eyes, expression lighting when he noticed Fury in front of him.

“Come on, let’s get you home.” The director removed his leather trench-coat and settled it around the billionaire’s shoulders before lifting him up. He refused to acknowledge any glances the other SHIELD agents sent him as he carried his boyfriend to the quinjet, already waiting to take them to the tower.


End file.
